OTTAWA -- The City of Ottawa is still in storm clean-up mode. We've all seen plows on out on the road, but have you ever wondered what it takes to operate one of them?
Chris Soame is a heavy machine operator for the City of Ottawa. He's based out of the Catherine Street yard and primarily works in the downtown core. He has had this "beat" for 22 years.
Working in the urban part of the city has it’s challenges, he says.
"Oh, that’s the thing about downtown. Downtown is tight and everything is getting tighter."
The truck he's using has what's called a carriage belly plow. It’s mounted underneath the truck, as opposed to the front and side; this allows him to maneuver around parked cars. The spreader truck he’s in is also spraying liquid calcium, which melts ice.
Chris is assigned a specific route and tackles priority streets first. Once those roads are done, he can then take care of the residential streets.
When will he get to them?
Bryden Denyes, Area Manager for Urban Roads explains, "It all depends on the storm we have. If we have a prolonged storm event like we had the other day, it does take us a bit longer because we have to make sure that the priority road network is in safe travelling condition."
For now, the plows will keep up their work until the streets are clear.
